Hi all,
We are exploring ways to get from Biarritz to Barcelona on a budget. Anyone got an opinion on taking the train vs taking the bus? According to the Biarritz tourism site, looks like there's a bus from San Sebastián to Barcelona that takes about 6 hours, and a train that takes 8 hours. Would love your input on this!

Also, in case we decide to drive, if you have recommendations for cheap car rentals, we'd love to hear about that, too.

Thanks.

The journey takes a lot longer than you'd expect because of the mountains. There is an overnight train from Irun (the first station on the Spanish side of the border) which is the way I'd go. Most trains from France terminate at Irun so give easy connections, or you can get a frequent local train to San Sebastian, spend an evening there, then join the overnight train. If you're on a budget, then couchettes ("literas" in Spanish) are a cheap way of spending a night.

the fastest daytime rail routing will require two changes (Irun, mentioned above, being the first) and lasts a little more than 9 hours.

Driving might be faster depending on the routing.

Rental car..any rental involving a drop-off in another country might include a hefty drop charge unless you were to drive across southern France to somewhere near the border, drop the car, and train to Barcelona from there OR take the train into Spain and rent the car there and drive.

Personally, I'd stick with either the train, overnight or otherwise or the bus if you really want to save money.

You might want to consult a map which would give you a better idea of the geography involved in this trip and might also boost your understanding of the actual logistics involved.

Hi,

I think that those 6 hours by bus from SS to Barcelona are a bit on the optimistic side. If you check in www.movelia.com , you will see that the trip involves a change of buses in Zaragoza, and each leg of the trip is more or less 4 hours. Also, it´s not much more cheaper than the train.

If you opt for the train, it goes straight from Irun to Barcelona. It stops for a long time in Castejon, where it joins the train coming from Bilbao, but usually it doesn´t involve a change of trains (it is more a question of how incredibly slow it is ...).

Rgds, Cova

Great information!!
Still looking for more feedback. If you see this thread before August, feel free to add on. Thanks!

Check flying with Vueling, Bilbao - Barcelona. (http://www.vueling.com) I took August 5th to have a price, and it's 48€ one way and the flight takes about an hour. It shouldn't be too difficult to get to Bilbao from Biarritz by bus. From Irun to Bilbao it takes 1h45 and costs 7,32€ with Alsa (http://www.alsa.es)

Stardust, that's great to know about Vueling!

Everyone, we decided to rent a car for this trip. Seemed kinda crazy to deal with bus/train. We're based in Biarritz and will take the Spain road to Barcelona and go thru France on the return.

Any tips on what to do with the car in BCN? Should we just unload it in a garage for the 2-3 days we'll be there?

The advice about Vueling is good - - for planning this segment of your trip, but also... for tons of other intra-Europe air travel options, see www.whichbudget.com

Best wishes,

Rex

Maybe you can look for the possibility of returning your car in Barcelona and take another one there for the return trip. I have never hired a car so I don't know exactly how it works exactly.
Vueling option is very good, probably cheaper than the car one

For downtown Barcelona, a car is really no use. Public transport is excellent, and all in all it's not so big either, so you'll probably walk most anyway. The only places you could use a car for, is like the stuff you visit once you're past the 3 'basic' days in Barcelona, e.g. Montjuic or Tibidabo or Montserrat or Sitges or the Cava Caves (all can be done by public transport as well, in decreasing order of convenience). So if you're not planning to do any of these, drop off your car as soon as you get to Barcelona!

Do not plan to rent a car in France and return it in Spain! Dropoff charges would be atrocious (i.e., something like 600 Euro). That would definitely break your Budget.

Great advice, all, thanks everyone!

Oh, Ned, I didn't know that !! It's truly a steal !

You might consider taking the train from Biarritz to Bilbao and flying from there to Barcelona. Vueling has flights for about 50€.